ATAGI COVID-19 vaccination decision guide for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning pregnancy
COVID-19 vaccines are not routinely recommended in pregnancy, however they are not contraindicated.
COVID-19 vaccines can be considered if a pregnant woman has medical risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease or is at a high risk of exposure and contact with people with the virus. Pregnant women have been shown to have an increased risk of needing admission to intensive care and requiring mechanical ventilation if they contract COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant women of the same age. Pregnant women can discuss this with their health provider to ascertain if the potential benefit of receiving a COVID vaccine outweighs any risks.
ATAGI have released a COVID-19 vaccination decision guide for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning pregnancy and considering having a COVID-19 vaccine.
Learn more via links below:
墨尔本疫苗教育中心（MVEC）：孕期孕妇疫苗接种 (recently updated)
Effectiveness of First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines Against Hospital Admissions in Scotland
A recent study in Scotland has investigated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccines in preventing hospital admissions.
The study across approximately 99% of Scotland’s population (5.4 million people) found that a single dose of either vaccine resulted in significant reductions in COVID-19 related hospitalisations.
Read more via the link below:
The University of Melbourne: Learning as we go during vaccine rollout
As Australia begins its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, preventing disease transmission and achieving herd immunity are the long-term goals. This will only become known once the vaccine has been administered in a larger population.
The following article explores our experiences with past immunisation programs and highlights the idea of modifying schedules as further information comes to light. It is recommended that in the context of COVID-19 vaccines and a global pandemic, we must use the vaccines that are available now, and then adapt the program later.
It is suggested that with Australia's current rate of disease burden, further consideration needs to be given to developing countries to ensure a vaccine is readily available and affordable for all.
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The University of Melbourne: Learning as we go during vaccine rollout
The Conversation: When vaccinating 26 million Australians, expect a mistake or two. But we can minimise the risk of repeating Queensland's overdose incident
Following the inadvertent administration of a higher than recommended dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to two aged-care residents, the following article discusses how this incident could happen and how we can aim to minimise the risk of it happening again.
Looking at data collected from clinical trials it is reassuring that this mistake is unlikely to have serious side effects. Moving forward it is suggested that supporting the education of immunisation providers, as well as enhancing the way we capture errors, will promote confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
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New immunisation reference page: Pneumococcal disease and vaccines
Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) can manifest in many different ways causing disease of varied severity. Certain individuals with specific medical conditions are considered at an increased risk of IPD and therefore are recommended to receive additional vaccines. Our new reference page discusses the different pneumococcal vaccines available and outlines the different immunisation recommendations for each patient group.
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Registrations now open for the March CVU miniseries event
The next Clinical Vaccinology Update (CVU) miniseries event, COVID-19 vaccines: engagement, communication and safety, will be held virtually on Tuesday 9th March, 2021.
We are excited to welcome our panel who will be presenting on COVID-19 vaccine stakeholder engagement, participation and communication, as well as giving an update on the Victorian Specialist Immunisation Service (VicSIS) and international vaccine safety.
A full program of this free event can be found via our Events page and the link below:
A recording of the February CVU mini is now available
Thank you to all who attended our recent CVU miniseries event COVID-19 Vaccines: A Victorian Landscape on February 8th 2021.
Presentation topics included COVID-19 vaccine platforms, COVID-19 vaccine safety, COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Victoria, as well as stakeholder engagement and participation.
A free recording of this event is now available via our education portal.
To access this recording please follow the link below:
Victorian COVID-19 e-Learning Competency
Developed in partnership with the Victorian Government Department of Health, The Victorian COVID-19 e-Learning Competency is the latest course available on the MVEC education portal. This competency forms part of the pre-requisite training requirements for Victorian emergency authorised registered health professionals to administer COVID -19 vaccines.
The aim of completing this competency is to assist health professionals to be appropriately trained and competent to deliver COVID-19 vaccines.
To access this competency please follow the link below:
MVEC Education Portal: Victorian COVID-19 eLearning Competency
TGA provisionally approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
Following a thorough review process, informed by expert and independent advice from the Advisory Committee on Vaccines (ACV), the TGA has granted provisional approval for the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Provisional registration will allow COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to be administered to individuals 18 years and over for the prevention of COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The 2 dose course may be administered with a 4-12 week interval, with ATAGI preferring doses separated by 12 weeks. In certain circumstances an interval of 4 weeks is acceptable.
Of note, there were no safety concerns revealed in clinical trials involving patients >65 years of age and a strong immune response was demonstrated. However due to insufficient numbers of participants infected with SARS-CoV-2 in this age group, efficacy could not be conclusively determined. As a result, the immunisation of individuals in this age group should be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Supply of this vaccine will initially be imported from overseas, with ongoing supply of vaccines to be manufactured in Australia.
To read the press release in full follow the link below:
TGA provisionally approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccination Intent, Perceptions, and Reasons for Not Vaccinating Among Groups Prioritized for Early Vaccination
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States shows intent to receive a COVID-19 vaccination has risen to almost 50% amongst adults and priority groups, up from almost 40% several months prior. Non-intent has dropped to around 32%, with the groups with the highest levels of non-intent including young adults, females, non-Hispanic Black adults, adults who do not live in metropolitan areas and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The report highlights the key role health care workers play in addressing reasons for non-intent as they are trusted sources of information. This will be critical in promoting vaccine confidence and decreasing the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring there is equitable vaccine coverage and uptake amongst minority populations.
Read the full report below: